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NYC Arts in Education Roundtable

It Starts With the Arts 2026 Campaign Breakdown

4–6 minutes

By law, city government officials needed to pass a balanced budget by June 30th for the upcoming fiscal year (July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027). With support from our partners at CMW Strategies, we wanted to uplift some top-line arts education-related highlights and updates:

Update on Campaign Priorities

  • Reforms to MTAC Contracting Process: The Roundtable continues to fervently advocate for reforms to the Multi-Task Award Contract process with NYC Public Schools (NYCPS), including more timely processing, greater transparency, and improved response rates. Chief Nonprofit Officer Yasmin Cruz at NYCPS is tasked with helping organizations navigate this process. NYCPS has also shared plans to create an MTAC information page on their website, which we look forward to sharing with our community once available. Please contact Kim Olsen at kolsen@nycaieroundtable.org or attend our quarterly MTAC Working Group for more information.
  • Support for Arts Instruction: This upcoming budget sustains funding for the city-wide “Support for Arts Instruction Initiative” and arts partnerships in City public schools. The $4.05M initiative will continue to support standards-based arts instruction programs with a focus on increasing access to the arts and supporting pathways for sequential arts learning. We anticipate awarded schools to be announced this fall.
  • Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA): Another major win for Roundtable members and cultural partners was record-high support for DCLA totaling $323.46 million – $23.8 million above the Fiscal 2026 Adopted Budget.  The adopted budget restores $20 million in operating support for the Cultural Institutions Group (CIG) and Cultural Development Fund (CDF), following the $10 million baseline increase in the Executive Budget. The budget also adds $10 million for FY 2027, 2028, and 2029 for a new Cultural Stability Fund. This fund is intended to assist eligible organizations experiencing unexpected or emergency circumstances. We look forward to sharing additional details with our community as they become available. The Roundtable included this full request of $30 million for arts and culture in our campaign, and this significant win will benefit many members that receive funding through CDF or are part of the CIGs.
  • Baselined Funding for Arts Education: A major pillar of past It Starts with the Arts campaigns, we are thrilled to see our first full year through where $41 million in funding for arts education in schools is baselined! With this funding already confirmed in NYC Public School’s yearly budget, it has given our staff greater capacity to better focus on long-term advocacy related to teaching artist health insurance, data transparency, and importance of arts education in Portrait of a Graduate.
  • Transparency in Arts Education: Improving arts education data transparency continues to be a goal of the It Starts with the Arts Campaign. The City Council again attached a term and condition (T&C) requiring reporting on arts education in schools to the DOE’s budget. We anticipate this report will be made available later this fall via the City Council’s FY27 budget page. This information is especially important to informing Creative Compass: Mapping Arts Education in NYC Public Schools (expected to launch later this year). We will continue to push on more robust transparency across agencies.
  • Dedicated Funding for Arts Education: In a step closer to meeting our campaign priority to boost the per student arts allocation to $100, the per student amount saw a net increase from FY 2026 per student of $89.79 to $92.66 (School Allocation Memorandum #2: Arts Supplemental Funding through Fair Student Funding). However, the current allocation remains a recommendation instead of a requirement. This memo is intended to help schools effectively utilize resources and plan quality arts programming to meet NYSED arts instructional requirements for the upcoming school year

City Council Initiatives

  • Cultural After School Adventures: The total CASA initiative was restored to $17.34 million. Each Council Member is given $340,000 to support seventeen $20,000 CASA afterschool programs in schools. While approximately 90% of providers have already been designated at adoption, the City Council will continue to designate remaining funds in the coming months. We highly encourage checking Schedule C for a list of organizations who have been designated funding so far (pg. 29-59).
  • SU-CASA: The SU-CASA Initiative was restored to $3.825 million. The City Council has not yet designated any funding or released guidelines for Fiscal 2027. We will circulate updates as they become available.
  • Cultural Immigrant Initiative: $7.395M is allocated to the Cultural Immigrant Initiative, remaining the same from FY 2026. Similar to CASA, many providers have already been designated at adoption, and City Council will designate $385k post-adoption (see pg. 59-73 in Schedule C for more information).
  • Violence Prevention and Intervention for Youth and Young Adults (formerly Art a Catalyst for Change): This initiative saw a slight increase to $4.56 million in FY 2027. About 97% of funds were designated at adoption, and City Council will designate $138k post-adoption.

Coalition for Equitable Education Funding

The Roundtable is proud to be one of the 120 organizations who are part of the Coalition for Equitable Education Funding – advocating for the resources needed to ensure every student receives a high-quality education, with a focus on those who need the most support.

We join our colleagues in celebrating a budget that builds on the City’s previous investments and continues several important programs for the coming year that were set to expire by June 30, 2026. This includes

  • Sensory Exploration, Education & Discovery (SEED): Provides small group support from occupational and physical therapists to students with intensive sensory needs. ($8.4M)
  • Restorative Justice: Helps students stay in school, repair relationships, and resolve conflicts instead of being suspended. ($6M)
  • Mental Health Continuum: Provides expedited mental healthcare to students at 50 high-needs schools. ($5M)
  • Immigrant Family Communications and Outreach: Helps families receive information about their child’s school in a language and mode they can access. ($4M)
  • Student Success Centers: Train youth leaders to build a culture of college-going and help their peers with the college admissions process. ($3.3M)

We thank our representatives in government, especially Speaker Julie Menin as well as Deputy Speaker Nantasha Williams, CM Eric Dinowitz, and CM Rita Joseph, for their recognition of the importance of arts education in our schools and communities. The Roundtable looks forward to working with you and our partners in the City Council, Mamdani Administration, and NYC Public Schools to build on this foundation and push for arts education for all.